The Draconian Guard
by ThePhoenixKing101
Summary: What If you took out a single factor, a key part of an event that changed the world. A new world is made of course, and your going to see how history plays out, where, instead of dying out, the dragons still live, and have inspired a whole nation of Dragonslayers, the Draconian Guard.
1. Chapter 1

You know, a lot of things can change in a world, in a blink of an eye, a mere instant. If you go back in time and step on a bug, well that can change the world forever. Minor things, change families, change names.

Who am I? Oh that doesn't matter, you could call me many things, I like to call myself Chuck, but to each your own. Back to what I was saying!

You change events, and then the entire spread of history falls into a massive reset, changing everything as we know it.

Let's find a story one you can sympathize with…. Ah. here we are, the Fairy Tail story. A Tale of magic and adventure, of dragons and dragon slayers, of love, of hate, of orphans, of families, and of course, of life and death. The story that ended with a misunderstood group of misfits and their guilds winning against an equally misunderstood villain, the Dragon slayer of the apocalypse, Acnologia.

What a good story, good ending, good buildup, just wonderful. A real gem for those looking for a story of adventure and magic. Let's use this story, and change it. Change possibly the most influential event known in this universe, completely.

Let's go waaaaaaaaaay back, almost there, just another century, and here. The start of the Dragon Festival. One side, the evil man-eaters of the dragon species, and on the opposite, the dragons that wish to coincide with humanity, and their dragon slayers. We all know how this ends. Acnologia kills almost all of them, save the dragons that raise the five dragon slayers in the future, and a few more. Well, not any longer.

Let's take this character, this antagonist, and take him out of the equation.

Hmm, interesting. Why I do think I like this change, I like it quite a bit. Let's leave it here, why not right? Let us see how the story of the dragon slayers turns with the aid of all of their brethren still around, all of the dragon slayers.

Why, I like this change. Now, experience it, a new story, where the newly made Draconian Guard protect the world.

1111

"Sir, The new recruits have arrived."

A tall man, with an obsidian black chestpiece of steel, his short black spiked hair following his tall jawline to lead to a thin goatee, ending in a sharp triangle below his chin. His violet eyes gazed across the skyline past his balcony, the mountains surrounding his City lightly bathed in the orange of the morning sun. His mouth ran in a fanged frown, his dragon-like canines poking just above his lower lip as he stared out into the rising sun's horizon.

This man's name was Tiberius Frost, he was of course known by many names, but this was his first. Standing at full height many would think him a giant, reaching a staggering 7'3 in height, it added out evenly with his 267 Ibs of weight, and made his intimidating persona of the Master Slayer of the Draconian Guard, even more intimidating. He pulled on his regular dark blue traveling cloak and draped it over his armored chest, the front emblazoned with a visage of dragons head crossed with a clawed arm, and a blade. His legs covered by baggy white leggings, a favorite among many dragon slayers, and his feet bare, he followed the fully armored Draconian soldier standing patiently at the door.

Fully armored to Draconians of course, meant a partial helmet, chestpiece, gauntlets that were nearly elbow length, and there regular baggy pants, color optional. Helmets were always enforced with men of course, though women were allowed to wear a simple headdress or tiara of their own style.

Tiberius was aware of course, as he walked the halls towards the recruit arena, that he was being watched, so was the case of being the Master Slayer. He gestured forward and a figure in golden armor appeared beside him, the armor color that of the Royal Guard of the Imperial Slayer family.

"What is the news captain." He sighed, and waved off the regular soldier, who nodded, and walked back the way they came. His voice was deep but smooth, a feature he didn't particularly always like.

"..." The Guard said nothing, only tapping twice on his chestpiece. The red claw marks that adorned the dragons face showed the difference between royal guard and regular soldier, as it was custom, and made it unique to the user.

"Understood, If I find someone that is a possible Royal Guard I will signal to you, though I doubt it, no one but you and Wendy have ever succeeded at such a young age to be at the level of Royal Guard. No one before or since has ever even been close.

Another set of taps, three this time, and far louder.

"Fine, go back to being unseen, the children do not need to know they are being sifted through for hell." Tiberius drawled with sarcasm dripping from his voice, and the Royal Guard Captain, as known now, disappeared the next second.

"I can't believe I ever had to be like that. What a drag." Tiberius grumbled to himself and walked up to a set of wooden doors, leading to the old restored Training Arena, and consequently, to a new set of annoyances, led by the captain of the Royal Guard of course.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, Like holy heck all of ya, this got so much positive feedback in less than a day. That is amazing! I am glad all of you are really into this story and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

"Alright ya punks, SHUT IT!"

With the voice level of a dragon, Tiberius quieted the relatively large group of boys and girls in the center of the wooden floor that blanketed the ground in the arena. Sitting in the judge booth above the field, Tiberius had a good view of the group, spotting a few out of place slayers in the group and grinning.

"Ah! I see we have a few special guests today!" He bellowed, and the group looked between each other, eyebrows up in confusion. He chuckled at their bewilderment and gestured to a few of the group, pointing them out.

"Why we have a few recommended slayers here! I can easily pick you out, especially you, Jewelry boy!" As he grinned wickedly, the boy in question walked up, his long sleeved red cloak slightly catching the old wood as he walked. He was covered almost head to toe, in diamond jewelry. He had diamond bracelets, diamond necklaces, diamond rings, diamond claws covering his nails, everything. He chuckled and spread his arms wide, his diamond chains jingling along his arms.

His shoulder length black ponytail swished past his shoulder as he bent low, bowing in mock admiration. "Well I can only thank the great Tiberius, The Master Slayer himself, for such a nickname, I am better known as Fenrys Durocko!" He finished, his jewelry tinkling violently as he brought his body and head back up to stare back at Tiberius.

Tiberius grinned as the rest of the people he pointed at walked forward, one of them notably smacking Fenrys upside the head. A near copy of Fenrys, minus the diamonds, and the hair color, the boy had a scowl as he glared at the man beside him. "Be more respectful you moron, He's not the master slayer for nothing." Clad in a pair of baggy white shorts commonly worn by dragon slayers, he only wore a black muscle shirt with it, contrasting terribly with his blonde hair.

"The name is Gavriel Durocko, of the Durocko twins. I wholly apologize for my brother's behavior." He stated quickly, doing a much more humble bow.

Tiberius could see the annoyance clear in the crowd behind the slayers he had selected, perhaps they believed he had a bit of favoritism in his blood? good, let them think it!

Tiberius chuckled at the thought as another one of his selected bowed to him. A heavily tan boy with golden brown hair and a heavy 5'0 clock shadow, his face was parted with nasty scar that ran past his eye and stopped at his cheekbone. Clad only in a pair of Black shorts, similar to the white pair in everything but color, he stood up and nodded to the rest, "My name is Titus Brackenhand It is a pleasure." His monotone deep voice was soothing in a strange way to the rest, almost calming. He stepped back and waited as another stepped forward from the chosen.

"My name is Lilia Arken, and you better remember it." The sarcastic and bored tone of a queen bee rang out from the tiny pure white haired girl that stepped forward. By far the shortest person present, barely above five feet at best, her hair spread down almost to her knees and almost wrapped around her. She strutted forward with attitude and her eyes showed the same as she bowed to Tiberius, never once breaking eye-contact, and smirking as she sauntered back into line.

He scoffed at her attitude and glanced at the last person, a relatively tall girl, her dark blue hair covering her right eye and going down to her chin, she was clad in long sleeve black shirt, with baggy white pants accompanying. She glanced up, a hardened expression on her face, "Mara Grimmhart." she said simply and quietly, and said nothing more.

Tiberius nodded, glancing at the now irate group of individuals behind them, glaring at their backs and shifting from one foot to another. They glanced between each other and rolled their eyes with each introduction. They thought the chosen five were special.

He started chuckling again, and gestured to the rest. "All of you, have either signed up for this, hoping for glory, or were recommended by your parent, your dragon. In either case the stakes will be fair." He made an open hand to them.

"This military calls for the best, the most powerful of our race to defend our home, our beliefs, and as such we cannot just have anyone join willy nilly." He stated and brought his first finger down. "First will be a test of intelligence, on our history, our biology, and our way of life."

A second finger, "Next will be a test of endurance, to see how long you can last under stress." The group below started shifting anxiously at this, the chosen did not move.

A third, "Then comes a test of strength, to see if you are truly capable to be a blade that can cut through our enemies with ease."

As the volunteers looked between each other with unease he let down a fourth. " A test of speed is after that, to see if your legs can carry you to our foes before they can lift their weapons against us."

"And finally" he dropped his last finger as they all looked up to him. "A trial of adaptability, to see if the seed within you can truly make you into a slayer of dragons."

They all looked up at him, some confident, some nervous, some angry. He smirked down at all of them, scoffing at the looks of anger and nervousness. He held no pity for them.

"Now let the trials, begin."

 **I hope you enjoyed, please leave this chapter with a smile and a surge of anticipation for the next one! Happy trails to all!**


	3. Chapter 3: Intelligence

**Not much to say here besides, thank you for the follows and faves!**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

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"Alright, the first round is going to be directed by myself, and it is quite straightforward!" Tiberius bellowed, the group watching with a mixed amount of interest.

"You will line up in a single file line, I will go down the line and give a question to each person. If I am not satisfied that your answer is correct, you will be disqualified from this trial." He stated, and the group of volunteers started grumbling, their irritation present, though ignored by Tiberius.

The group continued to stare at him as Tiberius said nothing, before slowly moving into a line beside the recommended slayers. He grinned as he vaulted the iron bar guard on the booth, landing in front of Lilia, who slowly looked up at him, as he easily towered over her.

He walked down the line, until he got to the beginning, and posed a question to the first slayer, a brown-haired boy in ragged cloth, torn stained shorts, and eyes that glared right into his.

"What is the name of the city?" The boy scoffed, Irritated with such an easy question. "Draconis, The City of Slayers." Tiberius nodded at the answer and went to the next person, a similarly dressed black haired boy, albeit cleaner clothing. "What is the first signature move taught by a dragon slayers parent?"

The boy looked nervous, conflicted on the answer. "Depending on the dragon, it usually differs between the dragon roar or dragon fist depending on how the user is meant to fight with the element." Tiberius stared at him before nodding, continuing down the line asking similar questions.

* * *

"So, any possible candidates?"

The voice rang out quietly, reaching only the two people present in the rafters of the training arena, the Royal Guard captain and a slayer with maroon colored hair that hung down his face on long sideburns, and a scar across the right eye of his dark blue pupils. He wore similar colored armor to the captain, marking him as a royal guard, along with his unique purple snake insignia that wrapped almost lovingly around the dragon head on his chest piece.

"..." his question was met with silence by his higher up, the person in question staring down and reclining against one of the supports with one leg dangling.

"I see, nothing special yet then, I'll take my leave then sir, if you do not mind." He started to walk away along the rafter, preparing to jump when he stopped his ear perking.

He slowly turned back to the Captain, who was now staring at him, his piercing red eyes glinting beneath his helmet. The man hesitated before turning fully towards him, looking down at the group with slight concern.

"Are you sure sir? That could have heavy consequences if their bodies can't handle it, and I highly doubt Master Tiberius would approve." The man spoke in an uneasy tone as if he already knew what punishment would await if Tiberius grew angry with them. The captain shrugged and waved his hand nonchalantly as he turned to look back at the group below.

"As you wish sir, I'll let the others know immediately, and to have Wendy on standby." He finished off, his ear perking slightly as the captain nodded. He nodded back and braced himself, disappearing into the shadows. The captain slowly looked back at the shadow for a second and then shook his head, glancing back down at the group.

His eyes narrowed beneath his helm as he met eyes with the quiet blue haired recommended girl, Mara Grimmhart, who stared up at him, a small frown on her face. The rest paid no attention, but he could tell, she knew he was there, even if he had a disguise she would know. She scoffed lightly, turning away and the captain chuckled lightly.

He was going to find this amusing, he was sure.

* * *

"Alright, Now for the difficult questions to start." Tiberius grinned as he said it, only to the groans of almost the entire group, some of the recommended included. Almost half had been eliminated and waited off to the side with mixed amounts of aggravation and irritation.

He approached a relatively young girl, black hair tied in a ponytail, with the basic garments of shorts and muscle shirt, who was noticeably nervous as he approached her for he believed the third time. "What is the difference in how humans age and how Dragon Slayers age?" He was curious to see if she could answer correctly, and her hesitation told him his answer.

"Well, If I'm going to be honest, I'm not quite sure. My dragon never taught me that sir, I will forfeit the question." She spoke clearly, though he could tell she was embarrassed, her face red as the rest stared at her.

"It's wise to know your limits. For future reference, when a human gains the dragon seed, they age ten times slower, ten years is considered one year, one hundred is considered ten. Go on now, you got to the second set of questions, take pride in that, as many of your peers did not." He watched as she walked to the rest of the group off to the side, and let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"Alright, Fenrys was it? What was one event during the Dragon Festival that could have changed the way it ended completely but was found before it could spiral out of control?"

The jewelry laced boy brought a hand up to his chin for a second before snapping his fingers. "The rogue dragon slayers' plan was found out, via a messenger that heard their plans beforehand, and their leader Acnologia was executed for treason, and the rest were imprisoned or executed depending on their involvement!" He smiled as he spoke clearly, and Tiberius grunted in approval, before moving down to his brother Gavriel.

"What is the most important rule in the dragon slayer community?" Gavriel hesitated for a second, his eyes flashing to his brother. "I believe that depends on the slayer, but I solemnly believe the fifth law, " _Never lay thine hand nor thine lustful eyes on another's mate, lest you be hunted by their significant other to the death, to the end, to the beyond, until your ash is but ash in their eyes."_ Is by far the most important law." Tiberius regarded him for a second, his eyes studying his face, before nodding his approval and moving down the line.

Tiberius continued down the line, more of the volunteers being rooted out, before landing on Mara, who stared back emotionless.

"What is each of the Royal Guard's best-known nicknames?" He knew he would have one of the recommended now, no one knew all of them, save himself and a very few select others. The rest of the slayers present started whispering and mumbling to each other, thinking the same.

* * *

Far above in the rafters, the captain stared down at them in interest, slightly doubtful himself. He chuckled as he thought about it some more, reclining back slightly and narrowing his eyes at the blue-haired woman.

He had a feeling this day would be full of surprises.

* * *

"From most powerful to the least, The captain, who is most well known to the public is best known as The Hell Beast. Next would be his lieutenant, Venom of the Undead who supposedly made corpses writhe in pain from his poison." Tiberius' eyes raised slightly as she paused, raising even higher as she continued.

"Next would be their two powerhouses, The Iron Serpent, and The Lightning Palace King, both who are well known for several cooperative feats of destruction and strength, though no one has really figured out who is stronger."

The group around them now started to mumble even more, she had named four of the seven, a feat many had not accomplished, even the recommended group started to look over in admiration, the Durocko brothers nodding at each other before looking back.

"Probably the least known, The Shadow Devil and Angel Incarnate, I don't know what they specialize in, I do know that very few people save for many in the military." She said it so nonchalant, that Tiberius had to take a second to process it, the fact that she had named six of the seven with ease, when most could barely name two, it was such a closely held secret.

His reaction made another presence start to chuckle even harder, even laugh, just barely loud enough for the blue haired girl to hear.

"How-" Tiberius started before the Mara cleared her throat, looking into his eyes.

"And last is their healer, who is the most widely known among the people, as The Sky Maiden." With that, she glanced back up to the rafters, where the near silent laughter, now giggles rang just enough for her to hear, before looking back at Tiberius and cracking a smirk.

The rest of the group stared, all of them, including the rest of the recommended group, the Durockos' jaws almost touching the floor.

"Well? Did I answer correctly?" Tiberius glared at her smirking face, before opening his mouth to retort. Of course, that was to be cut off right then, a clapping noise ringing out from the entrance.

Everyone turned to look, including a very irate Tiberius, who became even more irate at the sight of the maroon-haired slayer in golden armor approaching, his one good eye filled with amusement that matched his impressed grin.

"As the lieutenant of the Royal Guard, color me impressed by your knowledge. I suppose your parent must be quite high up in the dragon chain to have taught you those names." He smirked as she snorted, and that smirk grew as Tiberius stomped up to him.

"What are you doing here, I told them that only HE was allowed, no one else!" He growled, and the Lieutenant chuckled before shrugging.

"Don't yell at me, the captain ordered them to allow us to participate, said we should direct the rest of the events while you watch!" He shrugged again as Tiberius' face turned into a splotch of notably angry red.

"I, am going, to kill him." He muttered darkly and the Lieutenant smirked before walking past him towards the group of trainees.

"NOW!" He yelled cheerfully, motioning for them to gather around, "That concludes your first trial, the next has been decided to be the Endurance test!" He laughed as they looked at each other uneasily, his VERY forward attitude surprising to most.

"Um, sir..?" The Lieutenant turned to the voice, shaking his finger t them like a naughty child, "No no no, none of that sir crap. My name is Cobra. I'd rather you use that instead of sir or that terrible nickname." he said nonchalantly, causing their mouths to drop open and Tiberius to slam his head into the railing he was currently holding.

The same person spoke up, noticeably redder, and began again, "Well then, uh, Cobra. What exactly are we going to do to test our endurance?"

Cobra laughed at that, before grinning and pointing right at them. "Why that is an easy one to answer, you're going to do nothing!" He yelled out and gestured to all of their confused faces.

"I, however, am going to have lots of fun!" he exclaimed wildly, laughing again.

'Why is that Mr. uh Cobra?" the trainee asked again, and he grinned at them.

"Because I'm going to be poisoning you!" He said with a grin.

 **I hope you enjoyed and I hope you leave a fav follow and review!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Meeting

**This will be a bit of a strange chapter, a bit off the main story, but important! I hope you enjoy!**

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"So, what do you think of these new younglings?"

The expanse was dark, no walls appeared in sight, and the only light was from a shimmering pool of color that shifted to random points of the Training Arena, which had been strewn into a small bit of chaos at the careless comment from Cobra. A large pair of yellow eyes opened a few feet away from the pool at the question, along with a pair of silver, purple, and red. They all regarded the pool with interest of various amounts.

"I don't know. The only good ones appear to be the homeschooled ones." The voice originated from the purple eyes, a rugged gruff voice filled with doubt, though undoubtedly male.

"I agree. Almost all of them look weak, why even bother signing up if you can't answer the most basic of questions? Bah! Let them go back to their own weak filled lives." This time a grated almost metallic voice, from the red eyes, male and grumpy.

"Now now you old scale, no need to be so harsh." This time from the silver eyes, soft and soothing, the female voice continued. "Obviously they wish to improve upon their "weak" lives, otherwise why sign up. Let these younglings prove themselves. They all should have that chance." The metallic voice grunted at that, and all was silent, their pool switching to Mara, who seemed the calmest of all the trainees.

"Hmmm, that is Tratesa's isn't it? Seems the type anyway." the metal voice spoke out, and the rugged voice answered. "Definitely, I would know those eyes anywhere, not to mention the calm and cocky attitude. Definitely Tratesa." the voice finished, a shudder catching at the end, audibly.

"You act as if she is so scary, yet she seems to be quite fond of you, brother." A new voice, lighthearted and similar to an echo, spoke out, laughter following from the rest as the purple eyes shifted to the yellow eyes, which were closed slightly in laughter.

"Shut up." The grunted phrase created more laughter, taking quite a bit to quiet down, until the pool switched again, leading to silence. The captain of the royal guard lay in the pool, his red eyes reflecting from beneath the helmet even then.

"He used to have such wonderful dark brown eyes.." the silver eyes said mournfully like it was speaking of a lost child. The voice let out a keen of the same tone, and the rest sighed quietly. "They say he doesn't speak because he is afraid of what his words can do, he prefers actions. He's afraid that **_thing_ **will take hold of his tongue and spin lies." The metal voice spoke softly, his eyes lowered to gaze into the pool.

"A worthy fear, being that creature nearly broke out when he was nay but in his early years." the rugged voice spoke out, the rest of the eyes bobbing up and down like they were nodding.

"He takes an interest in my daughter, do you not see it?

The eyes did not look up, even with the sudden appearance of the newcomer, their greyish-purple eyes shining in the light of the pool.

"Tratesa, if we had known you were coming to watch we would have waited before conversing" the soft voice stated, the silver eyes looking up at the newcomers.

"Ah but you had not, my mistake, of course, I did not plan on attending. However... I wished to see her, my daughter." The eyes seemed to be lidded, and almost sorrowful.

"We understand Tratesa. These things take time, months, years, sometimes decades."

Tratesa keened mournfully at the soft voice, her eyes dripping with clear tears, lightly disrupting the pool. The rest said nothing, just focused on the pool, though notably, their eyes seemed to narrow slightly.

"Why are you really here Tratesa? To rub it in my face some more?" The metallic voice snapped out, the red eyes matching the teary ones with irritation.

"Metalicana, NO!" The soft voice increased in volume but did so too late as Tratesa growled, her tears drying slightly as her pupils dilated in anger.

"You know not to bring that up, brother." the red-eyed being rose, now named Metalicana, and snarled at Tratesa's own shadowed form. "Bring up what, that you cheated and won, that you now lord your unfair victory over me, embarrassed me in front of the entire Dragon council? Or are you here to boast to me again about how your runaway daughter is better than my violent head case of a son?" Tratesa roared at the red-eyed Metalicana, who scoffed in anger, slowly approaching the enraged Tratesa, who glared daggers at him, before he brushed past her, his body making an audible 'CLANG' as their broad shoulders collided.

"The next time you want to whine about your daughter leaving you for a better future, remember my son nearly killed me for it, I don't care about your spawn's connection to the king's son, nor do I care that you're having a hissy fit that she left you. I would have too, you vile serpent." He spat the words as he swept into the dark expanse, leaving her to cry again, in anger and sorrow.

The only eyes left were the silver, the ones belonging to the soft-spoken being. She stared down into the pool as Tratesa sobbed, and sighed again. "When did our family become so split that we spit venom like we breathe?" The being rose and settled next to Tratesa, whose eyes were clouded in tears. "You know he is correct about many things, wrong about just as many. But he does have a point, When his son accidentally nearly killed him and ran in fear, you scoffed and called him weak-willed as he wept for his son to come back. Now you cry the same tears and know the same pain. It is not easy is it?" she asked quietly, and Tratesa's tears dripped silently, both pairs focused on the red eyes that still stared through the helmet, the pool now unmoving.

"It doesn't matter, if he does take interest or not, you should be happy if he does. He actively visits, perhaps you will see your daughter once again. For now, I think it best that you speak with your brother. This feud could turn into another festival, all because of your snideness my dear." The soft voice was firm, causing the now silent Tratesa to sigh, her massive form shifting with the breath.

"I know Grandine, I know." With that she left, her massive form turning from the pool, and lumbering off into the darkness.

The silver eyes of Grandine flashed as she stared into the pool again, the helmet still there, the red eyes piercing out of the pool. "I hope, for your sake Tratesa, He does." and with that, she too, disappeared, a single white feather falling upon the surface of the pool, its surface going dark and bathing the expanse in pure darkness.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed! Have a good day, and BURN OUT!**


	5. Chapter 5: A conversation

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

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The trainees were visibly freaking out, Cobra's words sinking in more as they grew more worried and nervous. It only made it worse that Cobra was simply laughing it all off.

"Now now, there is nothing to be afraid of! It is only a pain causer, nothing lethal,. I swear!" He chuckled out, not easing them whatsoever. He pointed to his finger, it lighting up in a dark purple.

"I will simply touch your shoulder, and every ten seconds touch it again. Each time I touch you the pain increases. This is a test of endurance, so you get points based on however long you can handle it." He said calmly this time, a smile on his face.

"I can promise," He said with that same smile, "You will all fall by the fifth touch." he spoke confidently, pointing to each candidate, then at Mara. "Except you, since you won last round, you are exempt." He said calmly, to the outrage of the rest.

"She didn't win!"

"The round only ended because you came in!"

"Yeah, she shouldn't be exempt!"

Mara looked around unimpressed and rolled her eyes, glancing back up into the shadows of the rafters for a second, then back at Cobra, who was still smiling pleasantly.

"That bi-" The ;last comment was cut off as Cobra touched the boy's forehead with the poison coated finger, three times in concession. The rest went silent, staring at the spot Cobra _was_ at, and then to the back of the group, where he had appeared.

"Now now, no need for insults young man, though unfortunately, you are now disqualified." Cobra purred out pleasantly, leaving him twitching on the floor, his eyes rolled up in unconsciousness.

"Now, anyone else have an objection?" He chuckled out, and the rest shook their heads, every now and then glancing down at the unconscious boy. "Good! Now Mara, please follow your ears to your seat for the show, I believe someone wishes to.. Converse with you." He said, turning his head slightly as he spoke, glancing up into the rafters for a moment before turning back, his finger coated in poison again.

"NOW, who wants some poison?" he chuckled out, the rest paling as Mara jumped to the railing, and then ran up the seats, before scaling the walls, shiny black talons appearing where her nails would be as she made her way to the rafters.

* * *

She flipped onto the first wooden beam she could feel support her weight, and scanned the rest of them, seeing a sandal-covered foot dangling from inside the maze. She jumped from one to the other, finally reaching the stranger's beam, and sat down in front of the golden-armored man.

He glanced at her, his red eyes flashing lightly before he glanced back to the floor, where Cobra appeared to be chasing down several volunteers with his finger.

"Are you him?" she spoke softly, though she knew he heard, "Are you the one known as Hell-Beast?" she asked, and he scoffed, shaking his head as he looked back at her.

"Hate that name."

The voice was scratchy, and broken like it wasn't used often. She could barely tell it came from beneath the helmet, even though he was the only other person there.

"Natsu, Real name is Natsu." He scratched out again, his voice coming out like a dry wind in a desert. He coughed before looking down at Cobra again, the majority of volunteers convulsing around him.

"I guess you don't talk much do you?" Mara asked tentatively, and Natsu shook his head lightly, before looking back at her.

"How did you know all of our names?" he asked softly, his voice less scratchy, and she shrugged, cradling one knee in her arms while the other fell down past the rafter. "Just had an informed teacher is all," she commented gently, and he chuckled, hacking with each laugh.

"How did you become the head of the royal guard?" she asked back, and he shrugged, looking her dead in the eye. "Just had an informed teacher is all," he said lightly, before sighing wearily.

"You better go back down, I'm sure Cobra is almost done with the torture session he put your fellow trainees through. Next will be a test of strength, I'm sure you have it in the bag." He mumbled quietly, the scratch catching his voice like a mousetrap every now and then. She nodded and without another word jumped from beam to beam, before scaling the wall down, not noticing the gleam in the captain's eyes as he watched her leave.

* * *

"Allllllllright!" Cobra yelled enthusiastically, Titus and Fenrys staring each other down while sweating and breathing heavily, each at their fourth touch. "Whoever stays standing the longest between you two, wins the round!" He cackled out, and they both nodded, albeit shakily, Fenrys' grin now gone and replaced with a grimace.

His brother Gavriel and Lilia stood off to the side, The Durocko brother twitching slightly and shivering, while the white-haired girl calmly checked her nails, rolling her eyes as Cobra touched both of the boys' heads, and Titus groaned before falling over. Fenrys stumbled, shivering violently, but stood up, and then fell down as Cobra clapped him on the back, the anti-venom taking effect as his hand made contact.

"Good job, both of you!" he grinned out, helping Titus up and leading them all over to the recovering group of volunteers. Lilia rolled her eyes again and followed as Fenrys started recovering from the poison, his cocky grin coming back.

"Now, all of you! The next trial will be a bit more difficult, for most of you." He said grinning, and turned slightly, staring at the door as another figure made his way toward them. Decked in pure black armor, with a gold dragon emblem, his blood red eyes tore through each of them, his face was covered only by a metal faceguard which looked welded to his face, which served as his only head protection, his massive mane of black hair extending almost past his waist, his chest-plate was where his armor ended, his black cloak tearing at spots on the bottom, revealing his tan pants, tucked into his black boots, equipped with metal supports for the heel and the tops.

They all stared at him, most in fear and nervousness, though none like Mara, who took a noticeable step back, a whimper leaving her as he locked eyes with her, a notable growl leaving his faceguard, before he glanced at Cobra, who stared, shaking his head. He growled again, and turned to the rest of the group.

"You, Fenrys." He growled out, his voice gruff. Fenrys perked up, nervously smiling before moving to the side as the man pointed to the sidelines.

"I am best known as the Iron Serpent, I am one of the physically strongest members of the Royal Guard. I will be providing your test, If you can make me move with any type of physical strike, magic induced or not, you pass. If not, you lose the trial, it's that simple." He spoke with strange clarity fitting his gruffness, and pointedly. He held out his hand and it turned a silvery shade of grey, and extended it.

"Alright, who's first?" He growled out.

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 **Sorry for the cruddy chapter, I have been rushed these past few days and had next to no time to work on this chapter. I still hope you enjoyed. My next few chapters might be spaced out a few more days than usual, I hope you stick with it and still enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6: The origin of the Sea

**Sorry for the late post!** **I've been really busy! This chapter will be a bit different,** **I** **hope you enjoy!**

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The sea is a great teacher, it helps teach survival. I learned that from a young age.

Growing up on a ship was never easy, with a father and mother who were more sailors than parents, and a "Family" that treated me more as a servant than a human being. I grew to… I don't know, tolerate it. I never disliked them per say, but I never thought of them as more than a passing thought.

My parents eventually thought it necessary to teach me how to commandeer their ship, and how to sail a small one-man ship. That is where my skills apparently soared.

I caught on quick, my quick reactions from years of ship orders being barked at me were quick to take effect here, allowing me to easily figure out and counter any problem I might have with the sails. I soon was sailing circles around the mothership, to the amusement of my mother, and the annoyance of my father.

That was where I spent my days after that, sailing on my own little ship, smiles gracing my lips every time I hit a massive wave or had a pack of dolphins following me. I was happy, I was free.

'Course, the thing about being free, doesn't come without a cost.

Sunny day out, amazing really. I had my own little pod of dolphins around me, my parent's ship off in the distance, sailing to whoever knows where. It was quiet, and then with an explosion that rippled the water even to me, my parent's ship had a brand new hole in it.

A black ship, with white wings along its side, dropped from the clouds, another blast of energy building in its cannon. The cannon itself was nightmarish itself, fashioned as if it was a dragon roaring and unleashing the energy, with a crack like lightning, the mast of the ship cracked and fell over from the ensuing blast.

I could do nothing, only stare in disbelief. I remember only one tear falling. One single tear as I saw my mother, black hair spiraling in the air as she pulled a cannon into position and fired a shot point blank at the cannon as it fired. The blast flew over the cannonball as it tore a hole in the side of the black ship. It missed the cannon, unfortunately, their's did not.

She fell, the right side of her body obliterated completely, she was gone before she hit the wood of the ship.

After that, it was quick. I never did see my father, I'm sure he died quickly. They blew the rest of the ship away with a barrage of shots until the ship disappeared completely. I yelled in anguish, that much I remember. I swore at them, I screamed profanity at them, I didn't care.

They apparently did. Their ship was on me in barely thirty seconds, their cannon aimed at my tiny little sailing ship. I continued, I cursed them, I asked the deities themselves to strike that black horrid ship down, I wanted them dead.

I got my wish.

The cannon was charged, almost ready to fire, when it went silent. It seemed like the very ocean had hesitated. The sea had gone still as stone.

With a crash that sounded like a glacier cracking in half, the water rose behind me, spiraling around my ship as the cannon fired, the water stretching and morphing around the shot, nullifying it completely. Cries of alarm rang loud on top of the ship, fear building as they tried to bring the ship from the spiral, but being unable. Had their wings been.. Grabbed? I wasn't sure at the time of what I was seeing.

It seemed as if the water itself was eating the ship whole like it had a mouth like it was more beast than the ocean. I prayed loudly as I thought back to the stories of water gods, the sea beasts, anything to spare me. My praying continued long after the ship's noises stopped, long after the screams stopped, long after the horrid crunching stopped.

When my eyes finally opened, my voice was lost. My eyes met the single massive violet eye in front of me, one of seeming amusement. I tried to find the body that fit it, but It seemed to rise and merge with the water, becoming one and the same, all around me.

" _You are alone child."_ A voice deep and feminine, laced with a touch of sadness, echoed around me, to which I nodded in wonder. " _They the Heretics of the scale, have dealt your tree of life a deadly blow, you have no one left to care for, or for you. This is a tragic day."_

The voice was caring, morose, and sad all at once. I couldn't answer, only continue to nod. The eye came closer, the water above it almost acting as a brow as it raised in a seeming question.

" _Do you wish to stay alone?"_ The voice had changed, from sad to calm, from caring to calculating. I shook my head.

" _Then come child, If you so wish, I the queen of the sea, the Dragon Aquola, will teach you, will feed you, will comfort you, as you train as a child of dragons."_

My voice cracked out, as I slowly rose, taking a step into the water, it supporting me as if it was solid. "Yes, I.. Yes please Aquola, I accept." I stuttered out quietly and the voice chuckled.

" _Just Aqua will do my dear, but what is your name?"_

The question took me off guard as the dragon that would become my only family carried me through the very ocean I had come to love, come to adore.

"My name is Titus Brackenhand."

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 **And there it is! I plan on doing more origin stories, small portions here and there. Maybe between chapters to add a few fillers here and there! I hope you enjoy!**


	7. Chapter 7 Iron Trials

This trial had definitely taken a turn for the worse, by everyone's standards. The "Iron Serpent" had effectively and eventually literally knocked out almost half the contestants, three or four of the volunteers managing to move him slightly surprisingly.

They were waved off with a grunt and went and stood in the winner's circle, which was placed directly next to the losers circle which holds the knocked out individuals that the irritated royal guard member had knocked into unconsciousness after they had not "Tried hard enough"

Even Cobra started to look a little anxious, looking up into the rafters nervously as the Iron Serpent flung another volunteer at the loser's circle.

"Hey come on Ga-" Cobra leaned backward just in time, doing a limbo as a jagged iron sword swung where his head was a second ago. " _ **Don't. Call. Me. That**_ _._ " The voice had deepened considerably and echoed strangely with the massive Royal Guards face guard still in place.

Cobra brought his hands up slowly as he stood up, glaring at the black armored dragon slayer. "Fine _Iron Serpent_ don't you think in present company you should be a little, tame?" He asked, the words slowly coming out as he picked them carefully.

The black armored dragon slayer growled and turned away, casting a glance up at the rafters, his red eyes catching the red glint of the captain's. He scoffed before glancing at the rest of the volunteers and rolling his eyes.

"Alright punks, whatever is left of the volunteers, pick up and escort the losers circle out of the arena." He growled out, and the group looked at each other in confusion, before rushing to do as he said, his booming roar catching them off guard, "DID I STUTTER PUNKS?!"

Quickly they rushed out of the arena, leaving only the five recommended, the Royal Guard, and Tiberius, who slowly rose, and followed behind the group of volunteers, stopping by Cobra to whisper in his ear angrily, baring his fanged teeth for a second as Cobra flinched, and then continued on as the poison slayer nodded quickly.

"Now for the four of you, same thing, hit me." The Iron Serpent growled out, and Titus stepped up, face calm, his tan features giving him a brooding look almost as his hand slowly closed into a tight fist, his fingers surrounded in light blue energy which started to rush past his arm and on past his elbow, collecting into a swirling light blue jet of seawater.

"You wish for me to hit you? Fine." He mumbled out, his eyes narrowing at the last word.

" **Sea Dragons Sea Spray Strike."** growling out that wonderful tongue twister, Titus shot forward, his hand being propelled by the jet of seawater shooting out of his elbow.

It collided with the Royal Guard's outstretched hand, the latter's eyebrows rising in surprise as he slid back a few feet, the feeling of the iron surrounding his hand cracking open from the strike, throwing him off for a second.

The Iron Serpent stared down at Titus for a second before nodding, Titus walking back to the rest. "Next." The black armored slayer grunted out, and Gavriel stood and walked forward, his hand slowly turning a strange mixture of red and black.

Without warning the Durocko brother shot forward, his body twisting so his elbow met The Iron Serpents hand, surprise slowly showing on the royal guard's features.

" **Magma Dragon's Eruption!** " A roar in comparison to Titus' mumble, The Royal guard grunted in pain as his hand practically exploded, the attack making him dig his feet into the ground as he was forced back two or three meters.

He looked at the smoking remnants of the iron around his hand and nodded at Gavriel, who shook his elbow, which now sported a heavy bruise where it had struck the iron on the iron serpent's palm, and walked back to the group.

"Next." The Iron Serpent growled out, looking pointedly past Mara who still looked slightly afraid, and onto the white-haired figure of Lilia, who was ignoring the Royal Guard, checking her nails.

"I said, NEXT!" He roared out and she looked up, rolling her eyes before going back to checking her nails. "Like I told the poison dude, I am not touching any of you, you all disgust me. I don't want to ruin my wonderful skin by getting it close to a brute like you," she grumbled out, the Iron Serpent narrowing his eyes as he spotted a strange burn mark on the floor under her hand.

"Fine." He grumbled out, waving away the snobbiness. He then focused on the still fearful Mara, and gesturing for her to come closer.

"Your turn." He snarled out, his eyes narrowing and his face guard rising as if he was grinning. "Time to see what you're made of cousin." He chuckled out darkly.

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I hope you enjoy the chapter!


	8. Chapter 8: Iron Anger

**So so sorry for the long wait, have had a lot going on, work and family issues, but here it is!**

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That little comment sent an unseen wave of confusion through the rest of the recommended slayers, with mixed reactions, as the black haired royal guard and Mara started circling one another on the field, The Iron Serpent waiting for the strike, and Mara apprehensively avoiding doing that exact thing.

The reactions differed from interested, to uncaring, to irritated. The latter being from in the stands where Fenrys sat, silently fuming. This was noticed by Cobra, who glanced in his direction, his ear twitching lightly as he tuned his magic to him.

"- _upid girl, probably a golden child raised by her dragon to be the perfect little princess, and is related to one of the guard, talk about favored."_

Cobra snorted at the sight of Fenrys getting more and more agitated, before turning his eyes back to the little show, his companion getting as irritated as Fenrys.

"Dammit girl, attack already!" The Iron Serpent growled out, and Mara flinched, before nodding lightly and pausing, her hand slowly turning a dark and silvery shade of grey. She lunged forward, her hand extended in claws, her face still apprehensive and cautious…

And she missed. Or actually, she sailed past the smug Royal Guard as he dipped his shoulder backward, causing her to miss the mark and stumble forward.

"Aw come on!" He chuckled out, her confused expression growing as he laughed, "You still can't hit me? I guess that's expected." He finished smugly and she scowled, lunging again, only for him to dodge, again, and again, and again, and again, and again. She eventually lost count of how many times her asshole cousin had dodged her attacks, and tried one last time, lunging for his neck. He responded with a scoff, dodging again, only this time bringing his knee up sharply, and catching her in the stomach.

She cried out and coughed violently as he dropped her, her lungs struggling to regain the air that was forced out. "Still as weak as ever." The massive royal guard spat and started walking away. "I'd say you fai-" he was cut off as his back exploded in pain, his voice rising to a roar of anger as he reached behind him grasping blindly at the sharp steel-colored thorn under his ribcage.

He pulled it out with a grunt of pain and turned back to Mara, who was giving him a look akin to hatred. He growled before grinning darkly, the two starting to circle again. "Is that how it's going to be, little drake? Are we going to really do this?" He asked quietly, his smug demeanor unchanged, as his cousin's eyes narrowed, her glare as unchanging as his attitude.

With a roar he charged her, his face guard doing little to muffle his anger. She grunted as she rolled to the side, looking up just in time to see an iron club heading her way, colliding with her chest and throwing her into the wall, her hands melted into the grey metal they had been before and she scaled the wall nimbly, speeding up the side and pushing off, flipping over The Iron Serpent and breathing in, magic collecting in her jaws.

"Titanium Dragon's Roar!" she called out and unleashed a tornado of dark steel, her cousin responding in kind and releasing a tornado of iron as he turned, his roar tearing through his face guard and her own roar with ease; colliding, and throwing her back with a cry of pain. She smashed into the ground on the opposite side of the arena, a cloud of dust being thrown up violently.

His fanged grin was finally released in the absence if his face guard, what little was left he pulled off and chewed, his magic rising even more from it. "Now now, get up Little Drake, our lesson is not yet finished." He chuckled out darkly, his sharp teeth all shining in the light.

"Titanium Dragon Ballista!" Out of the dust, a barrage of sharpened steel grey rods flew at him, one catching his shoulder violently as he was thrown off guard. Mara capitalized on this upon hearing his grunt of surprise and pain, and rushed out, uppercutting him hard enough in the jaw to make his teeth make a cracking noise as they were forced together, and then spun around, roundhouse kicking him in the face and throwing him several yards backward.

He lay still for a second before slowly rising, Mara getting into a defensive position, though cradling the hand that had uppercutted, his studs breaking two fingers from the impact.

"Now that," He chuckled out, magic circling him as he rose to a standing position, "Was not very nice." at his last word his body slowly became coated in silvery scales of iron, his blood red eyes glaring holes in her as he stepped forward, and then disappeared.

Mara looked around in confusion before crying out in pain, an iron-coated fist colliding with her shoulder, and throwing her back. Before she could land he was behind her, backhanding her with an iron pole and slamming her into the ground before she could cry out again. He picked her groaning body and tossed her up lightly, before turning his arm into another iron pole, and slamming her into the ground again, running with her and dragging her face through the dirt.

She groaned in pain as he let her face up, her cries of protest quiet and brief as he held her by the forehead, her arms limp. "Really?" He slammed her head into the ground, "Was this it?" he backhanded her hard enough to get her lodged in the wall, "Was this all the great titanium dragon taught you, how to lose?" He forced her face up, blood dripping from her mouth as her eyes went in and out of focus, "How pathetic." He raised an arm and turned it into a jagged sword, swinging it down as Cobra yelled out in alarm.

And with that a strike of lightning collided with the blade, slowly forming into a tall blonde man, one hand grasping the sword right before it could hit Mara's throat, the other sparking violently before exploding with energy, throwing The Iron Serpent back. His golden armor left his chest and arms exposed while completely covering his lower body, said armor forming dragon-like leggings and feet. His unimpressed and scowling face glanced from Mara to his comrade, and to the ceiling where an orange flash had appeared, violently fluctuating before dying down, as he walked to the fallen guard.

"I told him he should have sent me." He growled out, his golden taloned foot holding down The Iron Serpent as he struggled. "You always did have trouble holding back."

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 **And** **there's that! I hope you all enjoyed, please feel free to Review!**


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